Retaining device for doors



W. l. HOOPES, JR

Filed Oct. 28, 1925 ATTORNEYS.

March 27, 1928.

RETAINING DEVICE FOR noons I I A Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

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Ap lication ma Occdb'i 28; 1925. Serial at. 65,910.

This invention, stated in its broadest terms; relates to a retaining device for house, apartment, store, or other doors and has inore particular relation to a portable device adapted to be manually positioned beneath a t 001 to act as a stop to retain the door in any desired position of adjustment.

The leading object of the present invention is to provide an article of the character above stated which is of simple, efiicient, and comparatively inexpensive construction which may be sold at retail over the counter as in five and ten cent stores and manually positioned bencath a door by a household owner to positively hold a door in any dosircdposition of adjustment; i A further object ofthe pr'ese'ntinvention is to provide a device of the character stated in which a pair of wooden or other blocks are employed connected by a flexible m'eta-l strip which strip is secured with respect to the blocks approximately two-thirds of the height of said blocks and rigidly secured with respect to said blocks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character stated in which the blocks aboveenumerated are faced at appropriate places with facing material, as rubber, to prevent marring of either hardwood floors or the finishing of the door be ing held.

Other and further objects of the present invention reside in the provision of general details of construction and arrangement of parts for attaining the results sought in the above objects.

Other and further objects not at this time appearing will be hereinafter more fully dc scribed.

The invention consists of the novel coustructiou hereinafter described and finally claimed.

The nature, chzuacteristic features and scope of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, and in which:

Fig. 1, is a fragmentary view in perspective of a. door held in desired position of adjustment by a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2, is a fragmentary view in central section illustrating a position corresponding to that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a view similar in Fig 2, in t-le ration, except that the position (it the device is reversed in order to accommodate a door ithich'haugs lower to the floor than the door shown in Fig. 2; and I Fig 4, is a View in plan of the device of the invention.

For the {an-pose of illustrating lny inven tion I ha '6 shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at presnt preferred by me, since the same has been found in practic'e to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instruuientaiities as herein shown and descril'ied.

Referring to the drawings, the door rctaining' device of the present irlvention consists, of a pair of members preferably of wood, although other material may be employed and these members, as shown, eonsist of a pair of relatively cubical pieces of wood designated 1 and 2, although obviously other shapes may be'employed. These cubical members 1 and 2 are connected by a resilient member 3 shown in the drawings as comprising a flat piece of spring metal. Each of the members 1 and 2 is provided with a. flat inner face 4 horizontally slotted to receive the ends of the spring metal 3. In practice, best results have been obtained by having the slots arranged approximately two-thirds of the height of the lnei'nbers l and 2, as best seen in Fig. 2. In practice pins 5 are driven through the members 1 and 2 and through the ends of the spring metal 3 engaging said slots to hold the spring metal member 3 in fixed relation within each of the slots aforesaid. In practice the inner corners of the members 1 and 2 are each hovelled and provided with material as for instance rubber 6 to prevent marring of a highly polished floor 7 or the door 8 to be retained in adjusted open position.

To properly position a door in adjusted open position it is merely necessary to flex the metallic member 3 into substantially arelike position and pass the same beneath the lower edge of a door so that the blocks 1 and 2 are positioned upon opposite sides of the door. Thus the blocks by reason of the tension of the spring metal 3 are held in clamped position upon the floor and the spring metal part engages the lower edge of the door and thus securely holds the door in adjusted position. As shown in the Fig. 2 the device is positioned beneath a door at with the spring metal part 3 twothirds of the way toward the tops of the members 1 and 2. This is to accommodate a door which hangs not too close to the floor. In Fig. 3 the members 1 and 2 are reversed so that the spring metal part 3 is but one-third of the height of the members 1 and 2 so that the spring metal part 3 may be more readily inserted beneath a door 8 which hangs very close to the floor.

The above described device may be readily and cheaply manufactured and sold at a nominal charge over the counter to be taken home by the purchaser and readily adjusted beneath a door to hold the same in any desired position of adjustment without the aid of screws or other fastening means, and in which the adjustment is elastic so as to provide various adjustments of a door irrespective of the swinging position of the door.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a door holder, a flat resilient metallie strip of greater length than the thickness of the door blocks having upper and lower bevelled corners adapted to contact with the floor, means for securing the ends of said strip at a point to one side of the center line of said blocks whereby the device may be reversed for use with doors varying in distance above the floor, said strip being flexed downwardly when in use by the contact of the bottom of said door therewith.

2. A device of the character stated, comprising two members of substantially square cross section the opposed..faces of which are flat, said members being slotted inwardlyirom the inner opposed faces and said slots being positioned approximately twothirds of the height of said faces, a resilient elongated flat piece of metal the ends of which are fitted to said slotted parts and means for securing said metal piece to said members.

3. A door holder comprising a pair of cubelike blocks and a resilient metal strip of greater length than the thickness of the door, having its ends removably secured in the ends of said blocks to one side of the axial centers of the latter, the upper and lower corners of the inner opposed ends of said blocks being bevelled and adapted for frictional contact with the floor when said strip is flexed and engaged under the lower edge of the door.

4. A door holder comprising a pair of cube-like blocks, a resilient metal strip of greater length than the thickness of the door, having its ends removably secured in the ends of said blocks to one side of the axial centers of the latter, the upper and lower corners of the inner opposed ends of said blocks being bevelled and cushioning strips applied to said bevelled corners and adapted for frictional contact with the floor when said strip is flexed and engaged frictionally under said door.

WASHINGTON I. HOOPES, JR. 

